


Welcome Home

by ConscientiousBeing



Category: Rage and Ruin, Storm and Fury, The Dark Elements Series - Jennifer L. Armentrout, The Harbinger series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Canon Compliant, Complete, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff, How Do I Tag, I Tried, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Rage and Ruin spoilers, Sorry Not Sorry, Spoilers, The Author Regrets Nothing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:48:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25133389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConscientiousBeing/pseuds/ConscientiousBeing
Summary: One version of what may have happened immediately following the events at the end of Rage and Ruin. Obviously, major spoilers for both Storm and Fury and Rage and Ruin.I did my best to stay as in character as possible for all characters involved, but I wrote this mostly to ease my own pain from that cliffhanger ending.Any thoughts/comments/constructive criticism is appreciated! <3Disgustingly fluffy. Read at your own risk.
Relationships: Astaroth/Layla, Roth/Layla, Roth/Zayne, Trinity/Roth, Zayne/Trinity
Kudos: 5





	Welcome Home

Zayne was an _angel _.  
My mouth still hanging open, I blinked a few times in shock. He was real and alive, I knew that. However, I was still terrified this was some sort of fever dream from my still-healing injuries, and I was going to wake up and he wasn't going to be there- "Trin?" His voice shocked me. "Are you okay?" I covered my mouth to stop the sob that was trying to escape. He had died and come back as an actual, full-blooded _angel _, yet he asked me if I was alright? It was such a Zayne thing to do. I shook my head, slowly dropping my hands from my face.  
"How?" the word was barely a whisper, but he heard it loud and clear. Something like pain seemed to briefly flash across his features, but it was gone before I could be sure.  
"Your father. Michael. He put... he put me back together." The way he struggled to say the last part caused my heart to violently twist, but I decided to come back to that after I addressed the concern that was making my heart race and my hands shake.  
"But you... you're really here? Safe? Alive?" I whispered the last word as if I were afraid asking the question would make him vanish like a breath in the wind. A faint smile pulled at his lips. His eyes, those wonderful, new eyes, gleamed with quiet joy.  
"Yes, I'm really here." He paused. "It's real. I'm real." As soon as he said the words and I realized I really was not hallucinating, I decided we were way too far apart. I threw myself at him, heedless of my stiff body. He caught me with both arms and a quiet huff of laughter, pulling me tightly to his chest. His solid, very real chest. I pressed myself impossibly closer until I could feel his every breath and his steady heartbeat. Real, real, real, I told myself as I savored his near-overwhelming heat and winter mint scent. The sob I had muffled earlier worked its way out in a violent gasping cry. I did not release him, even with the strangeness of the silky soft feathers of his new wings brushed the fingers of my hands, which were wrapped around his midsection. "It's okay, Trin. I am never leaving you again. Never. It's okay. I'm home. I'm home." His own hands were tightly gripping my body, holding me as tightly as I held him. His head was tucked against the side of my neck, and I could feel him breathing deeply as if he were fighting to keep control of his emotions, or he was simply breathing in my scent the way I was breathing in his.  
For a moment, or maybe forever, all we did was stand there, embracing. But eventually, my back gave a twinge of protest, which Zayne, of course, immediately recognized. “Hey. Let’s sit and talk, okay?” he asked into my neck. I gave a barely recognizable nod of agreement and peeled my face off his chest. I immediately reached down and gripped his hand, though. It was like I couldn’t bear to be without touching him for even a minute. I was so scared he was just going to fade away. He didn’t protest or comment on my sudden clinginess, but he gently tugged me in the direction of the bench I had vacated moments ago. He sat down, somehow managing to neatly tuck his massive wings behind himself so I could sit close without leaning on one of them. I looked down at his face, stunningly gilded in the late afternoon sunshine, for a moment before I settled beside him, thigh against thigh. I felt him take a deep, shuddering breath. Before he could speak, I did.  
“You said my father …he healed you?” I glanced up at him. His brow furrowed thoughtfully.  
“No. He didn’t heal me. Wherever I was…I was in one piece. I was already healed. I was there for what could have been days or years before he came for me, though. I don’t remember much of it, except feeling safe and …almost content.” _Almost _. He blinked, seeming to shake off an odd thought, and gazed back at me. “He didn’t heal me. He made me anew.” As I struggled to comprehend this information, I realized his fear.  
“You’ve only been gone a few days, Zayne. I’m not even fully healed yet.” His features immediately softened in relief at my words. After a momentary pause, I continued, “How exactly, did my father ‘make you anew’?” I added, “And does it have to do with your new –and gorgeous– feathery wings?”  
He flashed a quick grin at me. “Yes, the new wings were part of the ‘upgrade’.” He smirked a little at his wording, but his expression quickly sobered. “At some point when I was lost in …that place, your father appeared to me. He told me that you needed me. He said that you were breaking and that it couldn’t happen.” He grimaced, fixing his stare on our still-clasped hands on his lap. “He said that I needed to be the ‘hope to mend you’ if we were going to win ‘the final battle’. That was pretty much all he said- all that I remember, anyway. It was all sort of vague, honestly. Then, before I knew it, he had touched my arm and brought me somewhere new. That’s all I remember of it- the new, strange feeling of it. Nothing of what it looked like.” He frowned, seemingly trying to remember something that was not there. “Anyway, the rest of my stay there was kind of a timeless blur. It seemed like less time than when I was in the other place, but I don’t really know. I think I was standing for a while, or maybe I was lying down. I felt cold touches on my wings and skin, and inside me, in a way I cannot explain. Like someone was reordering my soul. Before I knew what he was doing, Michael reappeared in front of me and just said, ‘go’. Then everything went dark, and I was falling, and when sunlight appeared and my vision returned, I was above this park. Some instinct told me to turn this way, and here I am.” He shrugged, as if he had just told me he had slipped and fallen on a pebble.  
“He was right,” I said softly. Zayne looked up sharply, and we locked eyes. I looked away. “I _was _breaking. I would have done anything to get you back, Zayne. I was going to summon Grim. For days when I was healing, I dreamed of you. And when I woke up and you weren’t there…” I hesitated, closing my eyes against the dampness gathering in them at the agonizing memories. I opened them, blinked a few times looked upwards, and continued, “When I realized it was all a dream and you were really gone, I screamed. I screamed and screamed, and I couldn’t stop myself. The only thing that stopped me was when Layla or Roth gave me something to put me under again.” I shook my head, turning to face Zayne again. “Maybe my father knew that I was going to do something stupid to bring you back to me. I don’t know. But God, am I grateful you’re home.” The last words started that annoying dampness in my eyes again. Zayne’s thumb rubbed gentle circles over the back of my palm.  
“I’m grateful to be home, too. When I was away, I always felt like there was this gaping wound in my chest. Sometimes it would hurt so badly, I would look down to see if it was bleeding, but it never was, and I could never figure out why it was there. I just knew a piece of me was missing. Now that I am here, now that you’re here with me, the pain is finally gone, and I feel whole again.” When he looked at me, his own eyes were lined with dampness. “But Layla and Roth took care of you?” he asked, changing the subject to a more neutral topic.  
“Yeah, after the fight, they kind of moved in. Even brought furniture for the spare bedroom.” I laughed softly. “They’ve been helping me get back on my feet. They’ve kept a close eye on me and helped me heal. Bambi, too.” Zayne smiled, and for the first time since he had come back, there was real happiness in it.  
He glanced towards where the distant apartment was. “They let you come here alone?”  
“Oh …actually, no. They left to talk with …someone.” I winced. I had almost forgotten that Roth and Layla were out meeting with Lucifer himself. “Cayman was supposed to be watching to make sure I stayed put, but he fell asleep. Although I think he might have just wanted to let me get some fresh air.”  
Zayne’s soft smile made another appearance. “It is likely he would have heard you leave, even if he were asleep. Who did the other two go to meet with?”  
“Well …” I began. I felt Zayne tense against me.  
“Trin, who are they meeting with?” he asked when I did not attempt to finish my sentence.  
“Lucifer.” I burst out.  
His eyes widened almost comically far. “What?” He gaped at me. “You can’t be serious.”  
“Unfortunately, I am. They think he is our best shot at taking down the apocalyptic _archangel _on the loose. You know, the one that nearly killed me and did kill you.” I didn’t like my bringing his death up as leverage, and I was sure he didn’t appreciate it either, but I needed him to remember just how desperate our situation was.  
He frowned and stayed silent for a moment. “I understand.” His eventual reply caught me off guard, as I had looked away while he considered my words. “He would be our only chance to level the playing field. And if anyone could get him on our side, it would be Roth.” His eyes met mine. “I will work with anyone, do anything, to make this world safe for you.” He grinned mischievously. “And when I’m done that, I’ll be your seeing-eye _angel _.” A startled laugh cracked out of me. Fueled by a sudden need to be closer to him than I already was, I released his hand and threw my arms around him, shifting my body so I was curled up on the bench with my upper body sprawled over him and my legs tucked under me. It was not very comfortable, but he was warm, and I wanted to be as close to him as I could be. When he chuckled, I felt it in my bones. “You can’t be comfortable that way.” He murmured. I shrugged, not willing to relent my grip on him. I felt him smile despite being unable to see his face from my position. “Here.” He slid a hand under my backside and lifted me up, setting me sideways on his lap with my shoulder tucked against his arm. It was, admittedly, way more comfortable.  
I sighed contentedly. “Can we just stay here forever?”  
He also sighed, lifting my whole body with the inhale, and stirring my hair with the exhale. “Probably not. Though we can stay a while if you want to.” He fell silent, idly stroking a hand down my arm. I slid my gaze upwards, to the horizon. The sun was slowly creeping below it; golds and pinks already tinted the sky. Soon, night would fall, and Roth and Layla could be home any minute– they hadn’t told me how long they would be away. Maybe they already were home. Maybe they were looking for me. I internally winced at the thought, but I moved it to the back of my mind and ignored it. In silence, we sat there for a while as the sun fully set. Neither of us moved except to gently stroke the other’s arm or to get more comfortable.  
As true darkness began to descend upon us and I could almost see the stars wheeling above us in the blue-black sky, I murmured to Zayne, “Time to go home?” He hummed in agreement. This close, I could feel his heart begin to beat faster, slowly returning to its normal pace. I had not realized it, but he had started to fall asleep under me. When was the last time he had truly slept? With that thought as motivation, I shifted off his lap and got to my feet. I stretched gingerly, feeling muscles stiff from both healing and sitting for a while stretch taut. Zayne followed, rising gracefully to his feet. His wings stretched and folded neatly behind his broad shoulders. “That reminds me,” I said, gesturing to his wings. “Can you still shift into your human form?” I was also curious if his skin kept that angelic glow when he shifted. I wasn’t against the idea.  
He blinked blearily at me. Oh, we definitely needed to go home. I had rarely seen him so sleepy except for when he was just waking up or after a particularly late night of patrolling. “I think so. I haven’t tried yet, though.” Oh. Duh. He had been in this form when he had returned, and he obviously hadn’t shifted while we were sitting together.  
I nodded, realizing that based on my slow thoughts, I was also getting tired. “Uber?” I asked, referring to our method for getting home.  
He cocked his head. “We could do that. Or…” he trailed off and pointedly spread his wings. He opened his arms and grinned at me wickedly. Most of the sleepiness had faded from his eyes, and in its place, there was a sort of wildness that excited me. Shaking off my own exhaustion, I nodded and stepped into his embrace. He wrapped one arm around my waist and lifted, sliding the other arm under my knees. The arm on my waist slid to my shoulders, and he tucked me securely against his body. I appreciated the warmth; the already chilly July day was fading into an even cooler night. “Ready?” His voice was soft against my ear. I nodded, and he crouched slightly. I felt the muscles in his shoulders and ribs tense, and suddenly the ground was no longer beneath us. We lifted upwards, higher and higher, and the sky surged up around us, blanketing us in gleaming violet and navy night and peach-stained puffy clouds. The only sound was the muffled boom of Zayne’s wings. He balanced out and glided, and I gazed around in wonder. It was still a little too bright for me to see any stars, but the fading sunset had cast the sky in splendid colors. It felt like we were being welcomed home. I was surprised to realize that the bustling city felt that way to me now. I wondered if it was the city at all; Maybe it was the arms I was encased in.  
Sooner than I wanted, we arrived at our building. Zayne landed gracefully outside and set me down gently. Somehow, he had not jostled my sore body at all during the flight. While I got my legs fully back under me, I felt a rush of air to my left. Zayne had shifted into his human skin. I smiled. He looked like the same old Zayne, except for his brilliantly blue eyes and the slightly inhuman shine to his skin. I was sort of glad it didn’t fade. He smiled and offered me a hand. “Together?” he asked.  
“Together.” I interlaced our fingers, and we stepped into the building. The elevator ride to our apartment was quiet, and I wondered whether Roth and Layla would be home. The elevator stopped. The doors slid open softly and we stepped forward, still holding hands, into near darkness. The apartment was quiet and still. At first, it seemed like Cayman was gone, and Roth and Layla were not home yet, but I paused. Upon further inspection, the spare bedroom’s door was closed, and faint light spilled from under it. I stifled a sigh of relief. They were home. I wondered how Cayman had explained my absence. I turned to Zayne and opened my mouth to voice that very question when the door to their room opened a few inches.  
“Trinity?” Layla. “Who is with…” she cut herself off with a gasp. The door opened fully, and she stepped out, revealing Roth behind her, sitting on the bed with his ankles crossed, looking vaguely concerned. He lurched upwards, eyes widening when the light from their bedside lamp illuminated who was standing beside me. “Zayne?” gasped Layla at the same time Zayne said, “It’s me.” She looked like she was trying to decide whether to hug or attack him. Zayne’s hand tightened on mine. “You… you’re… how...” she could not finish the sentence. Roth was now directly behind her, his eyes wider than I had ever seen them, and there was a hint of wariness there, too.  
I interrupted abruptly before Roth decided to attack Zayne or something stupid, “My father brought him back.” The statement was effectively like dropping an actual bomb between us. Layla reeled back, eyes taking in the things she had not noticed immediately: the glow to Zayne’s skin and the change in his eyes.  
Roth spoke up, his tone somber and a little cold, “You feel… wrong. What did they do to you, Stony?” The use of Zayne’s nickname did little to hide the suspicion in his tone.  
“He’s an _angel _now,” I said. Roth and Layla both turned to stare at me as if I had spontaneously grown three heads. When he realized I was not joking, Roth fixed his gaze on Zayne again. It still was not friendly or welcoming.  
“Explain. Everything.” He said, and it was not a request. I understood the unstated words: tell me why we should trust you. Zayne nodded and quickly told them what he had told me earlier. When he was done, Roth’s eyes had softened from lethal to something near friendly. Layla’s were misty.  
“So…” Zayne trailed off. “That’s where I stand. I’m alive, I’m me, I’m just…new.” Layla let out a broken laugh, throwing herself at Zayne. He released my hand and caught her, hugging her close. I waited for the feeling of jealousy, but it never came.  
Roth smiled at us, softer than I had ever seen. “Welcome home, Stony.”______________

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
